Applicator and boiler for thermalvapor treatment of congestions in the human body



Apnl 13, 1943. w. E. HILLEBRAND 3 APPLICATOR AND BOILER FORTHERMAL-VAPOR TREATMENT OF CONGESTIONS IN THE HUMAN BODY Filed July; 19,1940 Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE APPLIOATOR ANDBOILER FOR THERMAL- VAPOR TREATMENT OF CONGESTIONS 3 Claims. ,(c1.4-165) My invention relates to applicators and boilers used in thermalvapor treatments indicated for alleviating the results of sprains,contusions, abrasions and other swellings or inflammatory conditions invarious parts of the human body. i

velop a new boiler for generating necessary vapor I and new applicatorsmore desirable than some of the former ones, especially in largehospitals. Another object of my present invention has been to devise abetter means of handling some of my former applicators in the process ofthe thermal vapor treatment. And another object of my present inventionhas been to point out a very desirable location for my thermostat, orthermal switch, for regulating the temperature of the thermal vapor inthe process of the treatment of a patient. Other objects of my presentinvention will be disclosed in the process of this specification. V

The foregoing objects have been attained in my present invention; and mynew and useful improvements in applicators and boilers with theiraccessory parts for alleviating swelling and inflammatory conditions invarious parts of the human body. illustrated in the accompanying drawingforming a part of this specification, are practical devices of myinvention, embodying the aforesaid novel means and other new I anduseful details of construction, arrangement and combination of parts,all of which together with their functions, will be described in detailwith reference to said drawing and will be definitely pointed out in theclaims that follow this description, so that any person skilled in theart may be able to construct and use this invention.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of one phase of my invention, theparts thereof being assembled for service, showing one form of my smallapplicators provided with a thermal switch and a flexible rubber hoseconnection designed for the thermal vapor treatment of different surfaceplaces on the human body, and a light portable supporting frame for theparts thereof, including a small circular glass boiler and an electricheater thereunder.

Fig. 2 is a detail view in perspective of the transparent dust-proofcover designed to fit over the outer part of the thermal switch, showingthe knurled head of the rotary adjusting shaft of the thermal switch andthe adjustable indicator for the dial thereof.

This invention has been designed and experimentally developed in itsdetails of construction for the purpose of producing, at a minimum ofcost, new and useful forms of applicators and boilers provided withaccessory equipment of great en'iciency in the service of alleviatingswellings, congestions and inflammations in different parts of the humanbody, by means of the thermal vapor treatment of said afflicted parts.And with said purpose and the special objects aforesaid in view, I willnow describe my invention more fully in detail, pointing out the new anduseful features of the construction and the operation of the individualparts and the combinations thereof, as illustrated in the drawinghereinabove described, in which similar letters and characters refer tosimilar parts, throughout the several views.

Light-weight equipment One phase'of my invention for the thermal vaportreatment of inflammatory conditions in individual parts of the humanbody, is shown in a side elevational view in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Inthis phase of my invention, I have designed a comparatively light-weightequipment adapted to be readily moved about and placed upon a table oron the floor for operation in the thermal vapor treatment of smallsuperficial areas on individual parts of the human body, in cases oflocal bruises, burns, abrasions, boils, c'arbuncles, poison ivy andother such afflictions. 'This light-weight equipment shown assembled forservice in Fig. 1 of the drawing, consists of a rigid supporting tripodprovided with a strong circular base-plate l, to which the lowerportions of the legs of said tripod are securely fastened and otherparts hereinafter described. For upon said base-plate I have se curelyfixed a small circular electric heater 2; and upon said heater I havemounted a circular water-boiler 3 which I have designed and developedexperimentally for use with this lightweight equipment, said boilerbeing provided with a circular cap 4 adapted to be screwed onto theupper threaded end of said boiler in service. This electric heater 32and the boiler 3 are designed to furnish the thermal vapor for any oneof the various manually-operative applicators which may be used withthis said equipment, all of which applicators, in construction andequipment, are designed to be similar to the conical applicator 5, shownin Fig. 1 and made of soft rubber and equipped with a wooden handle 3!,a short angular nozzle 29 and an automatic thermal switch. This hollowapplicator 5 shaped somewhat like a truncated cone, has soft flexiblerubber sides and a stiff, concaved baffle-plate 50 indicated thereinwith dotted lines and fastened in the inside top thereof by means of thescrew shown in dotted lines therein holding the wooden handle 5a to thetop of said applicator, which is also provided with a plane circularwide-open bottom designed to be placed over the inflamed or swollensurface on the body of the patient undergoing thermal vapor treatment.For this light-weight equipment I have also designed other applicatorsof different sizes, but similar in construction and equipment, thoughsome of them may have deep curves in the bottom lines thereof adapted tofit various normal curves in different parts of a patients body, toprevent the excessive escape of thermal vapor therefrom in the processof the thermal vapor treatment. This small applicator 5 is connectedwith the boiler 3 by means of a long, soft rubber tubing 6, whichextends from its connection with the nozzle 1 down to the upper end ofthe angular metal tube Zfi which passes down through a central boring inthe hexagonal block 8 and thence down into the vertical stem of thecircular cap 4 of the boiler 3 in a long, vapor-tight slip-fitconnection.

For the strong and rigid anchorage of the upper ends of the legs of saidsupporting tripod, I have designed the oblong hexagonal block 8; and tothree several, equally-spaced facets around said block I have securelyfastened the upper ends of the legs of said tripod. And to one of theintervening facets of said block, I have securely fastened the handle 9of said lightweight equipment, to enable the operator to move saidequipment readily from one place to another; and to another interveningfacet of said hexagonal block, I have fastened an angular holder-rod l5,upon the upper end of which an operator may hang the applicator 5 whennot in use, by pushing the upper end of said holderrod through theperforation in the wooden. handle 5a of said applicator, shown in Fig.4.

Operation of said light-weight equipment When the operator of thislight-weight equipment is preparing to give a patient a thermal vaportreatment for alleviating the swelling and pain in some localsuperficial afiiiction on the patients body, the operator, after makingthe patient ready for treatment and arranged in a comfortable position,would place said lightweight equipment upon the table or on the floor,near the patient. And then, to energize the electric heater 2, theoperator would connect his electric current lines with the source ofelectric supply; and the current now flows in along line H, which forsafety and convenience I have passed through the rubber tubing 6,inserting it through a small opening in the tubing near the junctionthereof with the angular metal tube 26. and allowing it to come outthrou h another small opening in said tubing near the junction. thereofwith the nozzle 29, from which this line H enters the automatic thermalswitch installed in the side of the applicator 30. And from said switchthe current returns in line i 2 entering the rubber tubing again at saidopening near nozzle 5b, and passing down through said tubing and comingout again through said opening near the tube 1. From this said opening,line l2 passes down carrying the current to the electric heater 2,energizing that and returning in line 13 back to the source of supply.These electric lines, H, l2 and 13, in the drawing and specification arerepresented as separate lines to illustrate the course of the currentfrom the source of supply, through the thermal switch and the heater;but in practice, of course, these lines would be incased in one cordwhich, at the switch and the heater, would be cut open to make theconnections for those parts.

Thus the water in the boiler 3 is heated, producing thermal vapor underpressure therein; and, consequently, the vapor passes out of said boilerthrough the metal tube 1 and the rubber tubing 6 through the nozzle 5binto the applicator 5, where it flows against said baffle-plate fixedtherein for the purpose of dispersing and tempering the stream ofthermal vapor as it enters the applicator from said nozzle.

The operator now grasps the knurled head l4 fixed on the outer end ofthe rotary adjusting shaft of said automatic thermal switch and turnsthe shaft, adjusting it so that the switch will open and cut theelectric current from the heater 2 at the temperature required in thisparticular thermal vapor treatment. The operator then sets the indicatorl4 at the index of said required temperature marked on said dial; andwith the set-screw shown in Fig. 2, he fastens to said rotary adjustingshaft the indicator l4 pointing temporarily to this said index oftemperature required for this particular treatment.

Now if the temperatiu'e of the thermal vapor in the applicator 5 shouldfall below the temperature required in this thermal vapor treatment, therotary adjusting shaft automatically turns back, taking along with itthe indicator I which the operator has previously fastened thereto withsaid set-screw, the automatic thermal switch closes, sending the currentagain through the heater 2, which quickly revives the temperature of thethermal vapor in the applicator 5, to the predetermined degree requiredfor this specific treatment. Thus the operator, with the help of thevisible indicator on the graduated visible dial of the automatic thermalswitch, is able to give his attention to the patient in the treatment,always having the assurance of the practically uniform temperature ofthe thermal vapor in the applicator. And in case of any material changein the electric current on the supply line to the heater, a glance atthe movement of the indicator [4' above or below its required index markon the dial, warns him to investigate without delay and make thenecessary correction for a successful treatment. The operator nowgrasping the handle 5a of this manually-operative applicator, proceedsto cover therewith the congested or inflamed area on the body of thepatient, thus bathing the afiiicted part with the thermal vaporcirculating in the now enclosed applicator, and exerting a slightintermittent pressure thereon, thus starting up active circulation inthe afilicted part, which soon brings about desired relief therein.

But, as I have previously explained, in the full equipment of thephysical features of my present invention, other applicators than thisherein shown, would be needed, made of different sizes and shapesadapted for the treatment of different aiilictions in various parts ofthe human body; but all of these, like the applicator herein shown,should be made in accordance with the common features of the applicatorsof my instant invention, that is, in construction and equipment, similarto the applicator herein shown and provided with bafileplates and theautomatic thermal switches. And it should be understood that thespecific detail of the various parts of the present embodiment of myinvention, as I have illustrated in the drawing thereof and fullydescribed, are not to be considered as limitations in the constructionof my equipment for the thermal vapor treatment of afflictions indifferent parts of the human body, and that I may make desirablemodifications in these details, to facilitate production or to economizein the fabrication of the parts thereof, provided I keep faithfullywithin the scope of my invention and claims.

Now, having thus described the various features of my invention, thedetail construction, arrangement and combination of its parts, as wellas it functions and the ways and means of operation and application;those features and accessories of my invention adapted for administeringthermal vapor treatment to afilictions in difierent parts of the humanbody, that I con sider new and useful and on which I desire LettersPatent granted to me, I have hereinbelow set forth and specificallydescribed in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a portable apparatus designed for the thermal vapor treatment ofcongestions in various individual parts of the human body, as described,the combination of a rigid tripod provided with a hexagonal blockfastened in the upper part thereof and with a broad horizontal shelffastened to the tripod-legs near the bottom thereof; means forgenerating the thermal vapor for said treatment, comprising an electricheater on said shelf, with its electric supplywires coming from a sourceof electricity; a circular glass bottle mounted on said heater andpartly filled with water; a tubular metal cap screwed on the top of saidbottle; means for efiiciently supplying said thermal vapor for saidcongested parts, comprising an angular metal tube running down throughsaid hexagonal block and connecting with said tubular metal cap in asliding vapor-proof joint; a long flexible rubber-tube connected to theupper end of said angular metal tube, and encasing said electricsupply-wires from said heater; and a soft rubber-applicator of conicalshape attached in a vapor-proof joint to the outer end of said longflexible rubber-tube.

2. In a portable apparatus designed for the thermal vapor treatment ofcongestions in various individual parts of the human body, as describedand defined in claim 1, including a handle for this light-weightequipment, said handle being fastened to a facet of said hexagonalblock, and a holder-rod fastened to said hexagonal block, to hang saidapplicator upon when not in use.

3. In a portable apparatus designed for the thermal vapor treatment ofcongestions in various individual parts of the human body, as described,a soft rubber-applicator of conical shape, wide open at the bottom andadapted to be filled with thermal vapor as said applicator is applied toany individual congested part of the human body, said applicator beingprovided with a baflle-plate for tempering and dispersing the inflowingthermal vapor, and provided also with an automatic thermal switch withindicator for controlling the temperature in said applicator.

WILLIAM E. HILLEBRAND.

